The news comes amid a 2016 One Direction hiatus that some fans have predicted could signal the end of the group, who have released five albums — four of which have reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. Zayn Malik quit the group in March of last year, and did not record on the group's most recent LP, November 2015's Made in the A.M..

"Harry doesn’t need any help with exposure; everybody in the world knows who he is,” the rapper added. “But he does need to make the transition from being part of a group to becoming an individual artist."

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Here's Everything You Need to Know About The Early Days of One Direction: